The intellectual heart of UC Berkeley, the College of Letters and Science (L&S) is the largest of the university’s 14 colleges and schools and the most prestigious teaching and research unit in the UC system.

The College of Letters & Science stands at the heart of Berkeley’s intellectual preeminence and comprehensive excellence. Our continued leadership in education, research, and public service depends on private philanthropy.

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Our Faculty

Learning From the Best

At the heart of UC Berkeley's achievements and reputation is a faculty second to none, honored around the globe for its intellectual preeminence. Berkeley's professors are pioneers — researchers and scholars who change the world with their accomplishments and shape the minds of future generations with their engaging teaching skills.

At L&S, students find themselves in classrooms with some of the most distinguished minds in research and academia. They include scientists such as molecular and cell biologist Randy Schekman who won the 2013 Nobel Prize in physiology, and history professor and Pulitzer Prize winner Leon Litwack. Michael Manga, Lu Chen and Nicole King, winners of the MacArthur "genius" award, help make Berkeley home to more MacArthur fellows than any other institution. Visit the Faculty Awards page to learn about recent prize recipients.

Perhaps more importantly, our professors spark students' love of learning and discovery with their effusive passion for teaching. They are teachers, such as: neurobiologist David Presti, a "hero" to his students and the winner of the Golden Apple Award for Outstanding Teaching; Distinguished Teaching Award recipients, including statistician Ani Adhikari, and philosophy professor Hubert Dreyfus; Shakespearean and Renaissance scholar Jeffrey Knapp; and astronomer Alex Filippenko, the 2006 national Professor of the Year who is beloved by his students for his "ability to light the astral fire in undergraduates."

Alex Filippenko

"The vote of the students means the most to me. Everyone in the universe could think that I’m great, but if the students don’t think I’m coming across to them … it doesn’t really matter."

Alex Filippenko was elected best professor on campus five times and is the winner of the Richtmyer Memorial Award and the national “Professor of the Year” award.